the Illumilux LED striplight from Vertex was first spotted in Germany as the Lumilux way back in May. In the intervening period the Illumilux has gotten a new name, four color combinations and a whole lot more refinement. The Lumilux from InterZoo was little more than a beefed up ReefBrite LED striplight but the Illumilux we have here is a completely new animal.

The Vertex Aquaristik Illumilux is not trying to be liek other LED striplights, instead borrowing from the plug and play and wireless heritage of the Illumina light fixture. We’re really digging the grooved edge of the Illumi-strip which accepts a conector piece to join the Illumilux end to end. This kind of modularity in LED striplights is what the early adopters are looking for, a way to keep their investment working for them regardless of what kind of reef they happen to be running. Furthermore, linking fixtures end to end links them up physically and for control ability. The Illumilux natively play nice with the exotic Cerebra aquarium controller system, but there is also a 1-10v input control which should allow the Vertex LED strip to interface with the Neptune, Digital Aquatics, Profilux and the Reef Angel controllers.

The Illumilux will come in four colors which all use Cree XPE LEDs; a Marino Blue with half blue and royal blue LEDs, Marino Bianco with half blue half white LEDs, a Dolce Bianco all white and a Dolce Rosso with half white and half red LEDs. The standard ratios of white to blue LEDs are what we’d come to expect for aquarium striplights but apparently the Dolce Rosso and it’s red LEDs are being targeted at the Red Arowana keepers. The Illumilux will be using 6 LEDs per foot, running at 750mA for a total of about 15 watts per foot. The four sizes of the Illumilux strip are one, two, three and four feet long (30, 60, 90 & 120cm) and they will carry a suggested retail price of $169, $259, $339 and $449 respectively.

The first shipment of Illumilux LED striplights is already in progress and should be available sometime in February.

VERTEX ILLUMILUX FEATURES

One platform, multiple-functionality. Can be used as a primary or supplemental source of lighting to add shimmer and color to fresh or saltwater displays.

Four color combinations (Cree XPE):

Illumilux Marino Blu 50/50 Royal Blue(450nm) – Blue(470nm)

Illumilux Marino Bianco 50/50 Royal Blue(450nm) – White(7000K)

Illumilux*Dolce Bianco All White(7000K)

Illumilux*Dolce Rosso 50/50*Red(620nm) – White(7000K)

Expandable, modular design allowing full user flexibility. Individual beams can be network in any shape and configuration using PCB connective fittings.

Wireless power networking between interconnected fixtures. PCB connections supply all power and control.

Only one power cable required to power each array (requires Vertex Splitter box).

“The Illumilux was originally conceived as a product that would streamline the application of LED technology over aquaria through its flexible, modular features and attractive form factor. We spent a lot of R&D planning all the little details to make this the most functional turnkey LED platform the market has ever seen. Our aim was to release a product that would cause the industry to re-evaluate the benchmarks. I’m confident that we’ve succeeded with this on many levels.”